ISLAMABAD: The Inter-Parliamentary Union on Friday termed Senate of Pakistan the only parliament that wholeheartedly engaged in the assessment of the “indicators for democratic parliaments, based on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets 16.6 and 16.7, among 100 parliaments.

A statement issued here said that the meeting of the Senate Parliamentary Development Unit (PDU) with Irena Mijanovic, Project Officer at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), was held at Parliament House Islamabad. The meeting was presided over by Mir Shai Mazar Baloch, Director General (PDU coordinator) Senate, and attended by the Senate PDU team, and Irena Mijanovic, project officer at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

IPU expressed gratitude to the Senate of Pakistan for its dedication, which was commended as a driving force behind the success of this pioneering initiative.

Irena Mijanovic expressed optimism about the Senate’s continued participation and enduring contributions to the long-term enhancement of the indicators. IPU also expressed keen interest in utilising the Senate of Pakistan’s experience to guide other parliaments in their pursuit of organising similar assessments.

IPU requested the Senate’s participation in the launch and promotion events for a website/digital platform where the indicators will be available.

Along with the potential for a central case study to be featured on the new indicators website, IPU also sought examples of the Senate’s actions, challenges, and impacts based on assessment recommendations.

Director General Mir Shai Mazar Baloch candidly discussed challenges and personal insights with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and informed that the support of chairman Senate for the initiative had been remarkable and also the secretariat which made it possible to be among the first in the world to undertake the whole exercise.

He accepted the invitation to participate as a case study for the IPU’s digital platform.

The statement said that out of a distinguished 100 Parliaments, the Senate of Pakistan had been exclusively chosen for the case study, to serve as a benchmark for the rest of the parliaments.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2023